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All about the iconic Concorde

30 November 2015

An icon of the skies, Concorde was one of only two supersonic jets to enter commercial service, and was able to undertake journeys such as London Heathrow to JFK or Paris Charles de Gaulle to Washington Dulles in less than half the time of standard aircraft.

WRITTEN BY

Claire Ellis

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Past

First flown in 1969, Concorde was an engineering breakthrough. A turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet airliner, it could reach speeds over twice the speed of sound and hold between 92 and 128 passengers. One of two supersonic jets to enter commercial service, it flew for 25 years until 2003, ferrying passengers across the Atlantic in half the time of standard aircraft. There were 20 aircraft built, with seven each being delivered to Air France and British Airways. Unfortunately, due to a downtown in the aviation industry, the aircraft’s only crash in 2000, the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US in 2001 and Airbus choosing to discontinue maintenance support, Concorde was retired in 2003.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Present

Today you can go and see a Concorde at a range of museums across Europe and the US, with one in Barbados. If you’re UK based, you’ll find them in places such as the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, the Filton Aerodrome in Bristol and the Museum of Flight in East Lothian amongst others. Further afield, try Le Bourget Air and Space Museum in Paris, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia or Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museumin Germany. Also, in September this year (2015) it was announced that Club Concorde had raised the £120 million needed to buy the Concorde currently housed at Le Bourget with the intention of restoring it and returning it to service as a heritage aircraft. The aim is that it would be available for use in air displays and for charter hire by 2019, taking to the skies again on the 50th anniversary of its first ever flight.

So, whilst we cannot currently offer you charters on an iconic Concorde, come back to us in 2019 and we’ll see what we can do. For now, why not take a look through our aircraft guide and see if anything else takes your fancy.